Crypto.com Capital Hires Jon Russell as LP, Hints at Expanding Fund Size

Crypto.com Capital announced Monday that it is expanding its $200 million Web 3 fund, and it has appointed Jon Russell, a former technology journalist based in Bangkok where he wrote for Tech Crunch and The Ken, as an Asia-based limited partner.

Crypto.com Capital initially launched the fund in March 2021 with $200 million in capital, targeting seed and Series A deals in verticals like DeFi, NFTs, blockchain gaming and the metaverse.The fund is currently run by Crypto.com co-founder Bobby Bao and is hiring more LPs around the world. Russell will help expand the fund’s exposure to Asia-based projects.Russell told CoinDesk that the fund is set to more than double its size and an announcement is expected in the coming days.Crypto.com Capital’s prior investments include Frax Finance and liquidity provider Woo Network.Asia is quickly developing an immense institutional appetite for digital assets.Singapore’s DBS Bank, one of the region’s largest, operates a crypto trading desk. Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) recently acquired a majority stake in Thai cryptocurrency exchange Bitkub.SCB 10x’s Chief Venture and Innovation Officer Mukaya Tai said that she envisions a world where DeFi protocols have disintermediated banks.Despite the bear market, VCs still are willing to allocate capital to the ecosystem. This comes on the heels of FTX establishing a $2 billion venture fund to invest in crypto startups and Sino Global Capital opening to outside investors via a $200 million fund.



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